Belgium extradites Paris attack suspect Salah Abdeslam

Abdeslam was arrested in a dramatic raid in Brussels not far from his home nearly six weeks ago

Belgium has extradited Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam to face trial in France.

He was wounded and arrested in a dramatic raid in Brussels on 18 March after four months on the run.

The 26-year-old French national was born in Brussels and lived there before the Paris attacks.

He would be held in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison in the Paris area, said Justice Minister Jean-Jacques Urvoas.

The co-ordinated attacks carried out by so-called Islamic State in Paris on 13 November claimed 130 lives and left dozens more severely wounded.

Belgium's federal prosecutor said Salah Abdeslam had been "surrendered to the French authorities this morning (in execution of the European Arrest Warrant issued by France on 19 March 2016)".

He was then formally placed under arrest and taken to a Paris courtroom for questioning by judges. It is thought he will be taken to Fleury-Merogis, Europe's biggest jail south of the capital where two of the January 2015 Paris attackers had served sentences.

§                           From Paris to Brussels: Why the attacks are linked

§                           Is Molenbeek a haven for Belgian jihadis?

§                           Abdeslam 'did not want to kill' scores

§                           What happened during the Paris attacks?

§                           Who were the Paris attackers?

Salah Abdeslam is charged in France with participation in terrorist murder and the activities of a terrorist organisation.

He was also indicted by Belgian authorities last week over a shoot-out in the Forest area of Brussels in which four police were wounded, three days before he was arrested.

Earlier, French criminal lawyer Frank Berton told French media that he would be taking on Salah Abdeslam's defence in France following a two-and-a-half-hour meeting between the two last Friday at a high-security jail at Beveren, near Antwerp.

'Empty ashtray'

Mr Berton BFMTV (in French) he hoped the man would be judged "for what he has done and not what he has not done... not for what he represents because he is the last survivor". Most of the Paris attackers are now dead.

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Frank Berton: Case history

French criminal lawyer Frank Berton has said he is taking on Salah Abdeslam's defence - in spite of hostility faced by the suspect's Belgian counsel

Frank Berton has defended some high-profile clients in recent years:

Florence Cassez, a Frenchwoman jailed in Mexico in 2007 for 60 years for kidnapping but controversially freed in 2013. She is alleged to have been part of the Zodiacs gang

Dominique Cottrez, sentenced to nine years in prison in 2015 for killing eight of her newborn babies

Daniel Legrand, found guilty of child sex offences in 2004 as part of the Outreau case; his conviction was later overturned in one of France's most notorious miscarriages of justice

Mohamed Drici, jailed for involvement in Islamist attacks in 1995, in which 10 people were murdered

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Mr Berton described Salah Abdeslam as "falling apart because of the drama that unfolded in France" and said he wanted to explain his actions.

He said he was aware of the risks in representing his client, but insisted "he has the right to a fair trial".

Mr Abdeslam's Belgian lawyer, Sven Mary, has spoken of the dangers he faced in representing him - telling France's Liberation website (in French) that he was threatened, assaulted physically and verbally in his office, and that on occasion police had escorted his daughters to school.

But Mr Mary also spoke disparagingly of his client, describing him as having the "intelligence of an empty ashtray".

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